St. Joseph - A football score that ended with a run-rule walk-off bomb.
Jared Munk's two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th gave Missouri Western baseball a 20-10 victory to cap off a wild offensive weekend with a series win over Northeastern State.
"The thing we talk a lot about is 'responding," said first-year head Griffon Coach Damian Stambersky.
"NSU has a very good offense. The wind was blowing out to right and they have a left-handed hitting lineup. We knew they were going to score, so the question is 'how would we respond?"
After falling behind 3-0 after the first inning and a half, the Griffons (9-4, 2-1 MIAA) responded with nine unanswered runs between the second and third innings to take a commanding 9-3 lead. The RiverHawks would get to within three at 12-9 in the seventh, before Western unloaded again with eight runs in the final two frames.
"We have a blue-collar group with some grit," Stanbersky said. "That's our culture. That's how we play."
Griffon second baseman Kaden Doan had a monster day from the plate, going 3-5 with 8 RBI's in the win. Those 8 RBI's are tied for most in MWSU single-game history, just behind Willie Forrest's record of 9 in 2006.
Ryan Koval went 2-5 with a home run and 3 RBI's. Munk, who homered for the second straight day, went 2-3 with 3 RBI's and 2 runs scored.
Pitcher Jeremy Husband (2-0) picked up the win for the Griffs in relief.
The victory caps a wild weekend in which the Griffons scored a combined 43 runs in three games to claim a 2-1 MIAA-opening series win.
With nine wins in 2024, the Griffons are now just four wins from matching their season win total in 2023.
Next up for MWSU, a a home date with Augustana (SD) on Tuesday, February 27th at Griffon Park. First pitch is set for 3pm. The game was originally scheduled for February 28th, but was pushed up a day due to weather concerns.
